Jonathan E. Clark

Jonathan Clark is a partner in the Labor and Employment Practice Group in the firm's Dallas office.

Areas of Practice

Jonathan is an experienced, strategic, and aggressive trial lawyer who specializes in “employee departure” litigation. To that end, Jonathan frequently represents businesses seeking to enforce restrictive covenants against high-level, departing employees who gained access to their former employer’s most valuable confidential information, trade secrets, and customer relationships. Conversely, he also defends companies seeking to hire personnel who may be bound by restrictive covenants with a former employer. These scenarios often require immediate and precise legal maneuvers. Accordingly, Jonathan often spearheads emergency injunction actions in state and federal court designed to halt contractual and legal violations before the damage is done and it’s too late.

Jonathan also defends employers in departure-related litigation filed by current or former employees. And he has successfully handled the defense of single-plaintiff and class-action claims for discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and wage-and-hour violations in state and federal court. These cases often hinge on securing valuable written discovery and deposition testimony for use in summary judgment motions. Jonathan therefore works these cases aggressively, to ensure the employer can put on a complete and vigorous defense.

While court action is often required, Jonathan understands the immense value to clients of preventing litigation altogether. With this in mind, Jonathan helps employers draft iron-clad employment agreements and restrictive covenants that provide businesses clarity and security. Jonathan also counsels employers in such crucial areas as handbook and workplace policy development. In addition, Jonathan frequently oversees highly sensitive internal workplace investigations. In short, Jonathan helps employers navigate the entire life cycle of the employment relationship so that businesses can mitigate risk and are prepared for any scenario.

Over the course of his career, Jonathan has honed his skills in numerous practices areas critical to the labor and employment space, including:

• Restrictive covenant litigation
• Harassment;
• retaliation discrimination on the basis of age, sex, race, orientation, gender identity, national origin and disability;
• FLSA and state-law wage and hour claims;
• Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act violations;
• enforcement of non-competition agreements;
• drafting and editing employee handbooks;
• workplace investigations; and
• responses to EEOC charges.

But Jonathan’s litigation skills and experience are not limited to labor and employment. Jonathan is deeply versed in business and commercial litigation matters. In these cases, he achieved successful outcomes for clients seeking to enforce contracts, protect confidential business information and trade secrets, enforce fiduciary obligations and minimize liability. Importantly, Jonathan’s deep understanding of how complex commercial cases proceed allows him to provide strategic advice to clients at every stage of the litigation process.

And when a resolution is reached, Jonathan understands the absolute necessity of drafting rock-solid settlement agreements that protect the client’s interests moving forward in the months and years after litigation has ended.

Honors

Ones to Watch — Labor and Employment, Best Lawyers, 2021-2025

Articles

Corporate & Securities Law Blog Posts

• "Texas Revolution: State Legislature Creates New Business Court System to Handle Significant Commercial Disputes," July 28, 2023

Labor & Employment Law Blog Posts

• "Final Word on Final Rule? Texas District Court Eviscerates FTC’s Non-Compete Ban," August 21, 2024

• "Not So 'Final'? Texas Federal Court Enjoins Enforcement of FTC’s Noncompete Ban, Leaving Future of Commission’s Rule in Doubt," July 8, 2024
• "New SCOTUS Case Could Make Fair Labor Standards Act Claims More Difficult for Employers to Defend," June 28, 2024
• "FTC Votes to Ban Noncompete Agreements," April 24, 2024

• "Supreme Court Eases Burden for Title VII Plaintiffs Challenging Transfer Decisions," April 19, 2024

• "Fifth Circuit Upends 30 Years of Title VII Precedent, Making it Easier for Employees to Bring Discrimination Claims," August 21, 2023

• "Missed Assignments: The Importance of Assignability Clauses in Restrictive Covenant Agreements," February 21, 2023
• "What Employers Need to Know in a Post-Dobbs Landscape," August 3, 2022

• "OSHA Emergency Temporary Standard Survival Guide," December 22, 2021

• "COVID Confusion: Texas Governor Issues Executive Order Effectively Banning Vaccine Mandates," October 14, 2021
• "New Texas Law Expands Employee Rights and Employer Liability for Sexual Harassment Claims," September 2, 2021
• "Go Home, Dallas: County Enacts 'Shelter in Place' Order in Wake of Pandemic" March 23, 2020
• "Title VII Reversal: Fifth Circuit Holds No Transgender Protections Under Civil Rights Statute," June 26, 2019 
• "EEOC Data Confirms #MeToo’s Impact: Six Keys for Employers in the Wake of This Powerful Cultural Moment," October 31, 2018 
• "Uber Drivers’ Class Action Lawsuit Hits Permanent Red Light," April 24, 2018
• "Texas Federal Court Rules That Anti-Discrimination Statute Protects Transgender Individuals," April 19, 2018 

Trade Secrets Law Blog Posts

• "Signed, Sealed, Delivered? Fifth Circuit Finds Sealing of Sensitive Information Requires Far More Than a Protective Order," May 9, 2022
• "Protecting Trade Secrets During An Acquisition: Showing Off The Goods Without Giving Away The Store," June 1, 2020

Media Mentions

Speaking Engagements

• "What Happened in Hamilton?,” Presentation to the Dallas Bar Association Labor and Employment Group, October 2023
• "Should I Stay or Should I Go: Drafting and Enforcing Non-Competition and Non-Solicitation Restrictions in Texas," The Virtual HRSouthwest Conference, October 7, 2020

Events

Digital Media